Men's Golf

Horton Leads Spartans as Sea Best Seafood Invitational Concludes

Feb 05, 2013

Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. –Brian Horton turned in a 75 in the final round of the Sea Best Seafood Invitational on the Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass Tuesday afternoon to finish as the top Spartan as the USC Upstate men's golf team claimed a tie for 13th in the tournament.

Starting on the 10th hole, Horton had a solid round going early on. He birdied the par-3 13th and also made birdie on the par-5 16th negating a pair of bogeys to shoot even on his first nine. He stood even-par through 13 holes before settling for the 75 to help pace the Spartans on the day. He improved his score in each round and finished the tournament tied for 31st with a 230 total.

Upstate shot a 306 in the final round. Like Horton, the team also improved its score in each round. With a 933 total, the Spartans claimed a tie for 13th alongside A-Sun rival Florida Gulf Coast. Upstate stood 29 strokes ahead of Charleston Southern and finished eight shots back of a Top 10 finish.

"For a good part of the day, we were shooting the best round in the field. Brian and Brad (Sill) played well today. They hung in the whole round and made some shots. We had a lot of putts for birdie instead of trying to save par like we were in the first round. We were very competitive over the last two rounds. We just need to work on starting tournaments playing the first round like we play the finishing rounds. The conditions were great. The course was beautiful. You couldn't ask for a better venue. It certainly lived up to its billing."

Tennessee, which held the lead overnight, withstood a charge from No. 31 Texas A&M to win the team championship. The 26th-ranked Volunteers shot 300 on Tuesday and finished with an 879 total. Texas A&M was second at 883 and was followed by Coastal Carolina (898), East Carolina (900), Winthrop (901), ETSU (902), Jacksonville State (915), Old Dominion (920), Georgia State (922), Jacksonville (925), Francis Marion (926), Wofford (931), Upstate (933), Florida Gulf Coast (933) and Charleston Southern (962).

In addition to Horton, Spartanburg's Brad Sill also turned in a 75 on Tuesday. He improved his scores each round of the tournament. On Tuesday, he went out in even-par through nine starting on the 10th hole and made three bogeys coming in to shoot 3-over for the day. He finished tied for 46th with a 234 tournament total.

Ryan Cornfield (Dudley, England) saved his best round of the tournament for the final round. He carded a 77 Tuesday and finished with a 240 total. Will Graves (Rock Hill, S.C.) had the fourth countable score for Upstate on the day, turning in a 79. He finished the tournament with a 237 total. Adam Goins (Gaffney) finished the tournament as the third-best Spartan, claiming a 236 tournament total to finish tied for 55th after shooting 81 on Tuesday.

Tennessee's Rick Lamb led the tournament overnight by eight strokes and cruised to the individual championship. He finished the tournament with a 5-under 211 total and won by six shots over Texas A&M's Greg Yates.

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The University of South Carolina Upstate is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate and masters degrees.Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1865 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia, 30033or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of USC Upstate.